Roberto Firmino scored a dramatic injury-time winner – five minutes after coming on as a substitute – to give Liverpool victory over Mexican side Monterrey and book their place in the Club World Cup final.

The Brazilian striker, who replaced Divock Origi in the 85th minute, poked in fellow substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross from close range in Doha.

Liverpool’s Naby Keita had opened the scoring in the first half after an excellent Mohamed Salah through ball before Rogelio Funes Mori equalised.

The Reds will take on Brazil’s Flamengo in Saturday’s final (17:30 GMT kick-off), which will be shown live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Manager Jurgen Klopp, who flew to Qatar with the first-team squad while under-23s boss Neil Critchley took charge of the Liverpool’s Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat by Aston Villa on Tuesday evening, named a makeshift starting XI due to injuries and illness in defence.

As a result, Liverpool looked vulnerable at the back and, despite taking the lead early on, could have fallen behind after chances fell to Monterrey’s Dorlan Pabon, Funes Mori and Jesus Gallardo either side of the break.

Keita also had more chances to score and was denied twice in the second half by keeper Marcelo Barovero.

Funes Mori – the twin brother of former Everton defender Ramiro – shocked Liverpool fans when he pounced on a rebound to equalise three minutes later but the Premier League leaders were persistent, as they have been so often this season.

Salah kept the ball in play before teeing up Alexander-Arnold, who slid a cross behind the defence for Firmino to poke home, meaning Liverpool avoided extra time and a potential upset in Doha.

Midfielders in defence & leaving it late

Such is the extent of Liverpool’s injury list that Jordan Henderson trained in the centre-back position in Qatar and switched from his normal midfield role to play the full 90 minutes there against Monterrey.

Fellow midfielder James Milner also started at right-back as Klopp opted to leave Alexander-Arnold on the bench, while defensive talisman Virgil van Dijk – who has started every Champions League and Premier League game for Liverpool this season – was ruled out through illness.

Centre-backs Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren are also out through injury, as well as defensive midfielder Fabinho, who is not expected to return until the new year.

So it was no surprise Liverpool’s back four were tested – Pabon got the better of Henderson on several occasions and Milner was caught napping at the back post when Rodolfo Pizarro almost got a touch on the ball in the second half.

Liverpool without @VirgilvDijk at the back look a bit like Liverpool used to look at the back before they signed @VirgilvDijk.

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) December 18, 2019

Monterrey had 16 shots in total, including eight on target, and there was a moment of relief when Joe Gomez – Liverpool’s only recognised centre-back in the squad – was only shown a yellow card for stopping a dangerous counter-attack.

In the end, Klopp was forced to bring on regular first-teamers Sadio Mane, Firmino and Alexander-Arnold and but was rewarded as his side eventually got the job done.

With Liverpool playing nine games in December, it was crucial Liverpool avoided extra time and they now have the chance to win their second trophy this season in Saturday’s final.

Strange 24 hours continues in Qatar

There will probably not be a stranger week for Liverpool this season, having played two matches on two continents in the space of 24 hours.

On Tuesday night, 22-year-old Pedro Chirivella, a midfielder with just seven previous first team appearances, captained the youngest team in the club’s history in the Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat to Aston Villa.

Fast forward 24 hours and Liverpool’s usual senior captain Henderson was starting at centre-back against a Mexican side in Qatar, 3,000 miles away.

Klopp even revealed before the game he was denied entry to breakfast at the team’s hotel because he did not have a pass showing he was part of the Liverpool staff.

The abnormality continued on Wednesday night as the stadium announcer asked fans “who’s come to see Mohamed Salah” and added “let’s get this party started” as the game kicked off.

Every time the Egyptian touched the ball there was a roar of excitement within the ground and fans came bearing flags and banners with his name plastered across them.

At half-time, the DJ played songs from David Guetta and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and a Mexican wave broke out in the second half.

It was an occasion like no other but Liverpool came through unscathed and can now look forward to the final before returning to England to take on title rivals Leicester City on Boxing Day.

Man of the match – Alisson

‘We will see what we can do’

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp: “All you need is Allison Becker, Allison Becker. He was there in the decisive moments. A really hard game and then you can bring on the boys.

“Wonderful goal, great game, super atmosphere. We have no clue about Virgil, we thought he would be fine. We will see.

“We have brought in a few kids and see what we can do line-up wise. We want to play the final and see what we can do.”

Monterrey boss Antonio Mohamed: “For me, there was a red card, especially the first foul and the second. So I talked to the referee.

“Maybe a Liverpool shirt has more weight, therefore the Liverpool player wasn’t sent off.”

A first in 18 years – the best of the stats

• Liverpool have reached their second Club World Cup final, becoming the first English team to reach the final of the competition twice.
• Monterrey have lost both of their Club World Cup semi-final matches, suffering defeat against English opposition both times (also v Chelsea in 2012).
• Liverpool’s Alexander-Arnold has registered 20 assists in all competitions during 2019, more than any other Premier League player.
• Since the start of the 2017/18 season, no player has more assists for Liverpool in all competitions than Salah (31, level with Firmino).
• Liverpool became the first Premier League team to play matches on consecutive days since November 2001, when both Manchester United and Arsenal did so.
• Keita has now scored as many goals in his last three Liverpool appearances in all competitions (three) as he managed in his first 41 matches for the club.

What’s next?

Liverpool take on Flamengo in Saturday’s final (17:30 GMT) after the Brazilian side beat Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal 3-1 on Tuesday. Five days later they face title rivals Leicester City in the Premier League on Thursday, 26 December (20:00 GMT kick-off) at the King Power.